The Psychic Piano
by tentsubasa
Summary: There's a rumor going around Seiso Academy that in one of its many practice rooms stands a piano that can read your mind and find a piece of music that perfectly conveys your inmost thoughts. Is it true?


**Phew, managed to get this out just in time for Halloween. =) This is a translation plus some embellishment of the _Corda_ skit from the 2005 Neoromance Live event.**

**The skit itself can be viewed here: v…youku…com/v_show/id_XNTg5MzU3ODEy…html from 38:50-44:06.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Kiniro no Corda/La Corda d'Oro_ or any affiliates.**

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><p>Kazuki Hihara fidgeted uncomfortably with his grass-green hair as he leaned against the door of one of the practice room doors, propping it open. Though it wasn't that late, the fall days were short, casting the world in shrouds of dark and light. The red glow of the setting sun lengthened the shadows making them creep across the walls and floor. His deep amber eyes snuck furtively into the empty room before resuming his watch. When suddenly, the sound of footsteps resounded down the hallway. Breaking into a smile, the lanky boy called out with a large wave, "Tsukimori-kun! Ousaki-senpai! Over here!"<p>

"Hihara-senpai, why did you ask us to come here?" The pale violinist brushed a crease out of his white Music Department uniform.

"Is there a reason you called us to this particular practice room?" the Seiso alum asked, his voice conveying his willingness to help with whatever was ailing his kouhai.

"Why, yes there is." Kazuki grinned. "There's been a rumor going around about this piano, so I thought I'd check it out, but…well, I was to scared to try it out by myself, so I asked you two to come too!" he finished quickly.

"Huh?" Shinobu cocked his head.

Len peered at the innocuous instrument. "Is there something in particular about this piano?"

"So rumor has it that this piano is psychic. If you sit down at it, your hands start playing it on their own, and the song that comes out reflects your thoughts."

"Really?" Shinobu's golden eyes lit up in interest. "That's incredible!"

"It _is_ rather unbelievable…" Len echoed with vestiges of doubt lacing his tone.

Kazuki turned to the completely normal-looking baby grand, all fired up. "Alright, then!" He clapped his blue-haired kouhai on the shoulder. "Tsukimori-kun, give it a try."

An inexplicable look crossed Len's face as he stared at the piano warily. "Me?"

"That's right."

"I suppose it's fine…. I just sit at it?"

"Yup."

As he laid his slim fingers on the keys, a soft, graceful melody poured out of the piano. "What…?" The violinist's pale gold eyes widened as his face froze. "My hands…they're moving by themselves…." After a few moments, his hands lay still on the surface of the row of black and white.

"Mmm," Shinobu nodded in approval, his red hair bobbing slightly. "Tchaikovsky's _Valse Sentimentale_."

Kazuki stared intently at his kouhai, barely concealing his excitement. "Tsukimori-kun, were you thinking about the competition?"

"Considering how soon the next selection is coming up, shouldn't that be obvious?" the other boy scoffed.

"This piano really _is_ amazing," Kazuki marveled. "Okay, Ousaki-senpai, you're up next."

Shinobu paused for a moment before inquiring, "Me?"

"Yeah."

He laughed good-naturedly. It seemed the trumpeter hadn't quite found his courage yet. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

Len scooted off to make space for the violinist and stood next to the instigator of this whole affair. "Since it's Ousaki-senpai playing, it'll probably be a really soothing, lyrical song."

Kazuki nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, since Ousaki-senpai is always so calm and kind."

The bespectacled college student chuckled as he positioned himself at the piano. His eyes widened in amazement as his hands actually lifted of their own accord and began to press lightly against the keys. "Incredible! My hands really are moving on their own!" he cried as his fingers steadily began to pick up the pace, flying over the ivory keys. His awe soon turned to alarm when he felt the invisible impulse begin to yank his body over the board of black and white in an attempt to increase speed. A loud cry ripped itself from his lips before the piano finally relinquished its grasp with a clumsy thunk.

"S-senpai?" the two high schoolers chorused in concern.

"S-senpai, wh-what in the world were you thinking about?" Kazuki asked unsteadily.

"Ah, well, truth is, my schedule's been rather hectic as of late, and I was thinking about all the things I have to do." He scratched the back of his neck with a slight laugh. "Just tomorrow, in addition to my classes at the college, I've got three part-time jobs, helping out with the orchestra club, and some of my classmates and I are getting together."

While Kazuki screwed up his face to count just how many activities that was, Len sputtered, "J-just how does one fit _all that_ in a single day?"

"Mmm…well, somehow or another you find a way, I guess," he laughed.

"You really are incredible, Ousaki-senpai," Kazuki praised in awe.

On the side, Len shook his head and wondered aloud, "You manage to get by somehow or another?"

Seeming to remember the reason they came to the room in the first place, Kazuki perked up. "O-kay! Next is…" his face froze for a moment before he gulped, "uh, me, I guess." As he gingerly sat at the bench and moved his fingers toward the keys, his eyes widened in excitement when he felt the strange power take hold. His fingers clattered across the rows of black swiftly in a tune that screwed both of his companion's faces in utter bewilderment. "This is amazing! My hands really _are_ moving on their own!" When the piano released him, he leaned back happily, kicking his feet back and forth. "That's _exactly_ what I was thinking about." He patted the piano. "This thing really is psychic."

"Umm, Hihara-kun," Shinobu looked torn between curiosity, confusion, and flat-out laughing. "Did something happen? For _I Stepped on a Cat_, to match your thoughts exactly…."

Kazuki nodded vigorously. "Actually, earlier, I got stepped on by a cat."

Shinobu cocked his head and swallowed a laugh. "You got stepped on _by_ a cat, not you stepped _on_ a cat?"

"Yeah."

"Just _how_ do you get stepped on by a cat?" Len's voice thundered.

Startled by the uncharacteristic display of emotion, Kazuki answered, "W-well, earlier, I was over in the wooded area of the school napping, when it suddenly became hard to breathe, as if was being squashed. In my dream, I was like, 'What's happening? I can't move. I can't move!' Then, my eyes popped open and when I came to, there was this gigantic cat sprawled across my stomach." He rubbed his stomach and made a face. "Man, was it _heavy_. Even now, I can…sort of feel it…."

Len rolled his eyes. "So a cat _climbed_ on you, it didn't _step_ on you."

"Well, yeah, I suppose…."

Shinobu's head flipped toward the door. "I hear someone coming."

"Huh?" Kazuki looked over just as a lithe, flame-haired girl in a Gen Ed uniform appeared in the doorway.

"Ah." Kahoko paused just inside the doorway, her pale gold eyes widening at the unusual group of people before her; she didn't think anyone would still be here.

"Oh, it's you," Len murmured, a note of tenderness in his tone that had been absent earlier. "Are you here to practice?"

"You're not?" Shinobu asked in surprise when she shook her head. Then, he smiled warmly, his eyes softening. "Mmm, I suppose we should've known that. You don't have your violin with you after all."

Kazuki beamed at the violinist, his eyes glittering in excitement. "Did you come to see if the rumors were true too, Kaho-chan?"

"Yes," she admitted with a slight blush.

"Well they are! We're living proof."

"Would you like to try it?" Shinobu asked, motioning for her to come in.

She bowed slightly in embarrassment and walked hesitantly over to the piano while Kazuki vacated the bench.

Kazuki grinned down at her when she settled herself on the seat. "This is so exciting! I wonder what song you'll end up playing."

Kahoko took a glance at the three of them before lowering her gaze to the piano. Her heart pounded wildly as a blush threatened to bloom over her cheeks. Of all people, _he_ had to be here…. This was so embarrassing!

A small gasp escaped as her fingers pressed themselves gently against the keys. The piano released a sweet melody like the first breath of spring. When she recognized the familiar, sweet strains she'd played on her violin at the summer camp, her face went hot and she quickly pulled back from the instrument in mortification. Hiding her face, she flew out of the room.

"Wait! Don't go!" Kazuki cried after her, hand extended as if to stop her.

Shinobu sighed in disappointment. "There she goes." He looked at the other two in concern. "She seemed pretty flustered."

The two students nodded. Kazuki frowned in contemplation. "That song just now…was _Salut d'Amour_, wasn't it…?"

"_Love's Greeting_…" Len murmured. "Which means that in her heart, there's someone…" he couldn't finish.

Shinobu voiced hesitantly, "I wonder who it is…."

An awkward silence fell.

Kazuki fidgeted uncomfortably before finally declaring, "I wanna know." Bowing quickly to the other two, he rushed out the door, calling back, "I'll tell you what she says!"

Len whipped his head after the blur of green and orange. "Ah!" After finding his voice, he yelled, "Wait for us, Hihara-senpai!"

"Let's go after them!" Shinobu urged, and with a nod, the two violinists took up the chase, leaving the psychic piano to its solitary amusement.

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><p><strong>The script for these skits is written to be deliberately vague so you can choose who it is that you want to be in this scene with romantically as an attendee of these Neoromance events. Choose for yourself whom Kahoko was playing for. =)<strong>

**There's a second chapter where Kanazawa stands in for Ousaki, but I haven't finished transcribing it, so hopefully I'll get it done in time for tomorrow. =) It's kind of a continuation but the same thing at the same time. Since they have different voice actors come on the different days of the Neoromance events, they use the same basic script with slight variations to match the different groups of characters. **

**Happy Halloween! =)**


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